My scholarship addresses historical and international trends in crime and welfare policies, with particular attention to how policies and laws intending to support underrepresented and marginalized groups have developed over the last century. I am especially interested in the “criminalization” of poverty and the penalization of vulnerable populations. One of my recent research projects examines how categories in crime policy, such as the “crime victim,” have crossed over to welfare law and policy. The study shows how new categories can change the way policy makers and practitioners conceptualize social problems, in particular, poverty and inequality.
I’m currently working on a book exploring the roots of the Swedish victim movement. This book is vital to informing the literature how different societies have approached issues related to crime and victims. The project is based on a case study of Victim Support Sweden (VSS), Sweden’s largest victim support organization. I am a reviewer for many criminology journals.
I am also a trained social worker. Before entering academia, I worked with many different actors involved in the criminal justice system. For instance, between 2001 and 2006 I was the director of a nongovernmental victim support center, which provides services to over 500 crime victims per year.
This article focuses on the interdependence between the state and Sweden’s largest non-government... more This article focuses on the interdependence between the state and Sweden’s largest non-governmental victim support umbrella organization, Victim Support Sweden (VSS). In particular, it examines how government funding of VSS has developed since the end of the 1980s. Based on a qualitative analysis of government bills and VSS’s annual reports, the article gives a detailed account of how a non-governmental organization and the state are interconnected in a complementary relationship. The results show that VSS has differentiated itself from the state and government agencies by defining its victim support volunteers as ‘fellow human beings’. The state and VSS have, however, always been interdependent, which blurs the line between the two. VSS has relied on government grants, while the state has leaned on VSS for victim support. In addition, many of VSS’s local victim support centers have signed cooperation agreements with municipalities, which may give municipalities greater control over...
Syftet med denna c-uppsats har varit att öka kunskapen om socialtjänstens ansvar för brottsoffer ... more Syftet med denna c-uppsats har varit att öka kunskapen om socialtjänstens ansvar för brottsoffer utifrån att en särskild bestämmelse om denna grupp införts i socialtjänstlagen (5 kap. 11 § SoL). I undersökningen har både rättsdogmatisk och rättssociologisk metod använts. Resultatet av undersökningen har visat att brottsoffers situation under den politiska processen har betraktats som ett strukturellt eller generellt problem och att socialnämnden bör bedriva ett aktivt arbete för denna grupp. Att det nu finns specifika mål för brottsoffer i socialtjänstlagen betyder emellertid inte att deras behov nu har ett starkare rättsligt skydd än andras. Rätten till bistånd bedöms på en individuell nivå och gäller insatser som avser den enskildes livsföring, oavsett vilken grupp den enskilde tillhör. Den strukturellt betingande konflikten har då i genomförandet återförts till en individualiserad situation och handlar då om en bedömning av den enskildes behov av bistånd som inte kan tillgodoses på annat sätt. Denna dubbelhet i lagstiftningen - att socialtjänsten ska verka på en generell och individuell nivå samtidigt - ger upphov till svårigheter och problem för tillämparen. Undersökningen har också visat på socialsekreterarnas dubbla funktioner - att vara behandlare men också utredare - som gör det svårt för dem att gå in i en stödjande roll för brottsoffer.
Working Papers and Reports Social Work nr. 22, 2021
Foreword:
The report presents the findings from the national conference on cultural victimology,... more Foreword: The report presents the findings from the national conference on cultural victimology, as part of the work within the European network for cultural victimology. The network is funded by the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST). The report is available in two versions – one in Swedish and one in English.
Working Papers and Reports Social Work nr. 21, 2021
Förord:
Rapporten presenterar vad som framkom vid det nationella mötet i kulturell viktimologi so... more Förord: Rapporten presenterar vad som framkom vid det nationella mötet i kulturell viktimologi som en del av arbetet som görs inom det europeiska nätverket i kulturell viktimologi. Nätverket får finansiering av European Cooperation in Science & Technology (COST). Rapporten finns i två versioner – en på svenska och en på engelska.
In the post-war period, many Westernized countries advanced toward more rehabilitative and welfar... more In the post-war period, many Westernized countries advanced toward more rehabilitative and welfarist ideals informing crime policies. These ideals centered on the offending individual, not the victim. This was soon to change. Victim compensation programs were one of the first initiatives taken for victims of crime with the first established in the 1960s. This paper examines and compares the development of victim compensation programs in two countries with contrasting social welfare and penal policies, the United States and Sweden. Both countries developed victim compensation programs located within welfarist administrative institutions, suggesting common penal welfare frameworks and instruments. Using the comparative historical case study method, the study finds that formative victim compensation policies in the two countries differed widely, reflecting social welfare versus remedial welfare policies, and rehabilitative versus punitive carceral frameworks, respectively. Arguments upholding penal welfarist ideals and social insurance concerns underlay the early formation of Sweden’s victim compensation program and anchored subsequent developments while, in the United States, political conditions led to a rapid trajectory in more punitive directions.
Swedish Under efterkrigstiden förändrades många västerländska länders kriminalpolitik i riktning mot välfärd och rehabilitering. Detta ideal fokuserade gärningsmannen, inte brottsoffret. Detta skulle snart komma att förändras. En av de första initiativ som togs för brottsoffer var brottsskadeersättning, en ekonomisk kompensation som infördes på 1960-talet. Denna artikel jämför utvecklingen av brottsska-deersättning i två länder, USA och Sverige, i relation till deras välfärds-och kri-minalpolitik. Båda länderna initierade kompensationsreformer för brottsoffer i välfärdsinstitutionella kontexter. Med stöd i en jämförande historisk fallstud-iemetod visar artikeln dock att kompensationsreformerna i de två länderna skilde sig åt och kom att avspegla respektive lands välfärds-och kriminalpolitik. De första svenska kompensationsreformerna förankrades som en socialförsäkrings-fråga, medan deras motsvarigheter i USA snabbt banade väg för mer straffinrik-tade program.
This essay provides a synthesis of criminological and social welfare theoretical frameworks, alon... more This essay provides a synthesis of criminological and social welfare theoretical frameworks, along with empirical data illuminating the links between crime policy and welfare policy. It also reviews current debates regarding the extent to which European countries are undergoing a shift toward more punitive welfare or crime policies. Building upon Gøsta Esping-Andersen’s classic typology of welfare regimes, current scholarship ties liberal welfare regimes to punitive penal ideologies and high rates of incarceration and social democratic welfare regimes to lenient attitudes toward punishment and low incarceration rates. Research also underscores the significance of economic and social inequality in the production and outcomes of crime and welfare policies. Comparative empirical data supports the persistence of penal-welfarism in Europe, particularly in social democratic states, exemplified by Sweden, while indicating more punitive policies targeting marginalized sectors of the population, notably immigrants.
Abstract
The aim of this article is to analyse how social workers in the social services d... more Abstract The aim of this article is to analyse how social workers in the social services describe crime victims and their role in supporting these victims. Based on focus groups with social workers in the social services, it is established that social workers discriminate between a categorical understanding of crime victims and an assessment of individuals in need. The categorical understanding of crime victims is connected to weakness and innocence, and the discussions are constructed with a focus on women and children. However, when the social workers move beyond this idea and describe individual victims of crime they have met, they attribute a more complicated picture and acknowledge the complexity of crime and victimization. The social workers give themselves a vague role regarding support to victims of crime. They consider themselves as able to connect individuals in need with helping resources, but they do not regard themselves as resources in this area. According to the social workers, an individual should not receive support from the social services just because he or she is categorized by them as a victim of crime. One conclusion is that the category ‘crime victims’ has not gained acceptance among the social workers.
This article is a legal analysis of the Swedish welfare statute and its application to crime vict... more This article is a legal analysis of the Swedish welfare statute and its application to crime victims. Specifically, it addresses a legal reform from 2001, when a new provision concerning crime victims was introduced in the Swedish Social Services Act (2001:453). The article raises policy issues, relating both to the limitations on the rights bestowed and the relationship between the various types of statutory provisions incorporated in the legislation. In particular, it focuses on the dichotomy between those provisions bestowing rights and those outlining goals. The main conclusion of the study is that the legal guidance regarding crime victims in the Social Services Act is vague, indistinct and contradictory. Additionally, section 5:11 does not change the legal responsibility of the Social Services towards crime victims, nor does it lead to the strengthening of the social rights of this group. Even the preparatory material indicates that the reform does not effect any legal changes. In addition, just like many other legal reforms for crime victims, very little supervision or enforcement mechanisms exist to ensure the application of the law.
This article examines the political motives behind the introduction of crime victim support provi... more This article examines the political motives behind the introduction of crime victim support provisions in the Swedish Social Services Act. The findings derive from a case study of the preparatory material that prefaced the legal changes that were adopted in 2001. The result shows that the explicit purpose of the provisions was to consider measures to improve the support to crime victims. To some degree the provisions can also be explained by symbolic factors. In fact, most actors in the law-making process indicate that their motives were communicative and symbolic. Support to crime victims was presumably a complicated issue for the social democratic government. Because of the economical crisis in the early 1990s, there was no scope for reforms that implied high increased costs. Yet expanding the crime victim's rights in relation to the offender, such as toughening the penal law and promoting victim impact statements, was not in line with social democratic ideology. By enacting the provisions in the Social Services Act the government demonstrated that support to crime victims was an important area of concern. At the same time, the provisions did not involve any increased costs or strengthen the crime victim's rights in relation to the offender. In this way, the provisions became a mediator that solved a difficult political dilemma for the government.
This article focuses on the interdependence between the state and Sweden’s largest non-government... more This article focuses on the interdependence between the state and Sweden’s largest non-governmental victim support umbrella organization, Victim Support Sweden (VSS). In particular, it examines how government funding of VSS has developed since the end of the 1980s. Based on a qualitative analysis of government bills and VSS’s annual reports, the article gives a detailed account of how a non-governmental organization and the state are interconnected in a complementary relationship. The results show that VSS has differentiated itself from the state and government agencies by defining its victim support volunteers as ‘fellow human beings’. The state and VSS have, however, always been interdependent, which blurs the line between the two. VSS has relied on government grants, while the state has leaned on VSS for victim support. In addition, many of VSS’s local victim support centers have signed cooperation agreements with municipalities, which may give municipalities greater control over...
Syftet med denna c-uppsats har varit att öka kunskapen om socialtjänstens ansvar för brottsoffer ... more Syftet med denna c-uppsats har varit att öka kunskapen om socialtjänstens ansvar för brottsoffer utifrån att en särskild bestämmelse om denna grupp införts i socialtjänstlagen (5 kap. 11 § SoL). I undersökningen har både rättsdogmatisk och rättssociologisk metod använts. Resultatet av undersökningen har visat att brottsoffers situation under den politiska processen har betraktats som ett strukturellt eller generellt problem och att socialnämnden bör bedriva ett aktivt arbete för denna grupp. Att det nu finns specifika mål för brottsoffer i socialtjänstlagen betyder emellertid inte att deras behov nu har ett starkare rättsligt skydd än andras. Rätten till bistånd bedöms på en individuell nivå och gäller insatser som avser den enskildes livsföring, oavsett vilken grupp den enskilde tillhör. Den strukturellt betingande konflikten har då i genomförandet återförts till en individualiserad situation och handlar då om en bedömning av den enskildes behov av bistånd som inte kan tillgodoses på annat sätt. Denna dubbelhet i lagstiftningen - att socialtjänsten ska verka på en generell och individuell nivå samtidigt - ger upphov till svårigheter och problem för tillämparen. Undersökningen har också visat på socialsekreterarnas dubbla funktioner - att vara behandlare men också utredare - som gör det svårt för dem att gå in i en stödjande roll för brottsoffer.
Working Papers and Reports Social Work nr. 22, 2021
Foreword:
The report presents the findings from the national conference on cultural victimology,... more Foreword: The report presents the findings from the national conference on cultural victimology, as part of the work within the European network for cultural victimology. The network is funded by the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST). The report is available in two versions – one in Swedish and one in English.
Working Papers and Reports Social Work nr. 21, 2021
Förord:
Rapporten presenterar vad som framkom vid det nationella mötet i kulturell viktimologi so... more Förord: Rapporten presenterar vad som framkom vid det nationella mötet i kulturell viktimologi som en del av arbetet som görs inom det europeiska nätverket i kulturell viktimologi. Nätverket får finansiering av European Cooperation in Science & Technology (COST). Rapporten finns i två versioner – en på svenska och en på engelska.
In the post-war period, many Westernized countries advanced toward more rehabilitative and welfar... more In the post-war period, many Westernized countries advanced toward more rehabilitative and welfarist ideals informing crime policies. These ideals centered on the offending individual, not the victim. This was soon to change. Victim compensation programs were one of the first initiatives taken for victims of crime with the first established in the 1960s. This paper examines and compares the development of victim compensation programs in two countries with contrasting social welfare and penal policies, the United States and Sweden. Both countries developed victim compensation programs located within welfarist administrative institutions, suggesting common penal welfare frameworks and instruments. Using the comparative historical case study method, the study finds that formative victim compensation policies in the two countries differed widely, reflecting social welfare versus remedial welfare policies, and rehabilitative versus punitive carceral frameworks, respectively. Arguments upholding penal welfarist ideals and social insurance concerns underlay the early formation of Sweden’s victim compensation program and anchored subsequent developments while, in the United States, political conditions led to a rapid trajectory in more punitive directions.
Swedish Under efterkrigstiden förändrades många västerländska länders kriminalpolitik i riktning mot välfärd och rehabilitering. Detta ideal fokuserade gärningsmannen, inte brottsoffret. Detta skulle snart komma att förändras. En av de första initiativ som togs för brottsoffer var brottsskadeersättning, en ekonomisk kompensation som infördes på 1960-talet. Denna artikel jämför utvecklingen av brottsska-deersättning i två länder, USA och Sverige, i relation till deras välfärds-och kri-minalpolitik. Båda länderna initierade kompensationsreformer för brottsoffer i välfärdsinstitutionella kontexter. Med stöd i en jämförande historisk fallstud-iemetod visar artikeln dock att kompensationsreformerna i de två länderna skilde sig åt och kom att avspegla respektive lands välfärds-och kriminalpolitik. De första svenska kompensationsreformerna förankrades som en socialförsäkrings-fråga, medan deras motsvarigheter i USA snabbt banade väg för mer straffinrik-tade program.
This essay provides a synthesis of criminological and social welfare theoretical frameworks, alon... more This essay provides a synthesis of criminological and social welfare theoretical frameworks, along with empirical data illuminating the links between crime policy and welfare policy. It also reviews current debates regarding the extent to which European countries are undergoing a shift toward more punitive welfare or crime policies. Building upon Gøsta Esping-Andersen’s classic typology of welfare regimes, current scholarship ties liberal welfare regimes to punitive penal ideologies and high rates of incarceration and social democratic welfare regimes to lenient attitudes toward punishment and low incarceration rates. Research also underscores the significance of economic and social inequality in the production and outcomes of crime and welfare policies. Comparative empirical data supports the persistence of penal-welfarism in Europe, particularly in social democratic states, exemplified by Sweden, while indicating more punitive policies targeting marginalized sectors of the population, notably immigrants.
Abstract
The aim of this article is to analyse how social workers in the social services d... more Abstract The aim of this article is to analyse how social workers in the social services describe crime victims and their role in supporting these victims. Based on focus groups with social workers in the social services, it is established that social workers discriminate between a categorical understanding of crime victims and an assessment of individuals in need. The categorical understanding of crime victims is connected to weakness and innocence, and the discussions are constructed with a focus on women and children. However, when the social workers move beyond this idea and describe individual victims of crime they have met, they attribute a more complicated picture and acknowledge the complexity of crime and victimization. The social workers give themselves a vague role regarding support to victims of crime. They consider themselves as able to connect individuals in need with helping resources, but they do not regard themselves as resources in this area. According to the social workers, an individual should not receive support from the social services just because he or she is categorized by them as a victim of crime. One conclusion is that the category ‘crime victims’ has not gained acceptance among the social workers.
This article is a legal analysis of the Swedish welfare statute and its application to crime vict... more This article is a legal analysis of the Swedish welfare statute and its application to crime victims. Specifically, it addresses a legal reform from 2001, when a new provision concerning crime victims was introduced in the Swedish Social Services Act (2001:453). The article raises policy issues, relating both to the limitations on the rights bestowed and the relationship between the various types of statutory provisions incorporated in the legislation. In particular, it focuses on the dichotomy between those provisions bestowing rights and those outlining goals. The main conclusion of the study is that the legal guidance regarding crime victims in the Social Services Act is vague, indistinct and contradictory. Additionally, section 5:11 does not change the legal responsibility of the Social Services towards crime victims, nor does it lead to the strengthening of the social rights of this group. Even the preparatory material indicates that the reform does not effect any legal changes. In addition, just like many other legal reforms for crime victims, very little supervision or enforcement mechanisms exist to ensure the application of the law.
This article examines the political motives behind the introduction of crime victim support provi... more This article examines the political motives behind the introduction of crime victim support provisions in the Swedish Social Services Act. The findings derive from a case study of the preparatory material that prefaced the legal changes that were adopted in 2001. The result shows that the explicit purpose of the provisions was to consider measures to improve the support to crime victims. To some degree the provisions can also be explained by symbolic factors. In fact, most actors in the law-making process indicate that their motives were communicative and symbolic. Support to crime victims was presumably a complicated issue for the social democratic government. Because of the economical crisis in the early 1990s, there was no scope for reforms that implied high increased costs. Yet expanding the crime victim's rights in relation to the offender, such as toughening the penal law and promoting victim impact statements, was not in line with social democratic ideology. By enacting the provisions in the Social Services Act the government demonstrated that support to crime victims was an important area of concern. At the same time, the provisions did not involve any increased costs or strengthen the crime victim's rights in relation to the offender. In this way, the provisions became a mediator that solved a difficult political dilemma for the government.
This study sought to explain how crime victims emerged as a target group in the Swedish Social Se... more This study sought to explain how crime victims emerged as a target group in the Swedish Social Services Act in 2001. The findings, derived from legislative documents, a literature review, and focus group interviews with social workers, showed that the 2001 provisions both duplicated and undermined pre-existing provisions of the Social Services Act. The explicit aim of the reform was to improve services to crime victims. The provisions did not, however, change the legal responsibility of the social services, nor did they strengthen the social rights of crime victims. The social services already assumed responsibility for crime victims according to other provisions of the act. To some degree, the reform can be explained symbolically. Support for crime victims was a complicated issue for the social democratic government. The economic crisis of the early 1990s ruled out reforms that might bring high increased costs. Yet expanding crime victims’ rights at the expense of the offender (e.g. toughening penal law and promoting victim impact statements) was not in line with social democratic ideology. By enacting the 2001 provisions, the government showed its commitment to providing support to crime victims. At the same time, the provisions did not increase costs or strengthen crime victims’ rights. In this way, the provisions solved a political dilemma for the government. Incorporating the 2001 provisions in the Social Services Act may seem to have been a modest reform. Symbolic politics, however, are not empty; rather, they reflect attitudes and beliefs. This study proposed that the 2001 reform revealed the state’s increasing concern with violence against women and individual responsibility. Furthermore, the provisions may have constituted a normative reorientation of the Social Services Act, in which individual responsibility increasingly replaced solidarity, the holistic view, and a right to assistance according to need.
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Papers by Carina Gallo
The report presents the findings from the national conference on cultural victimology, as part of the work within the European network for cultural victimology. The network is funded by the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST). The report is available in two versions – one in Swedish and one in English.
Rapporten presenterar vad som framkom vid det nationella mötet i kulturell viktimologi som en del av arbetet som görs inom det europeiska nätverket i kulturell viktimologi. Nätverket får finansiering av European Cooperation in Science & Technology (COST). Rapporten finns i två versioner – en på svenska och en på engelska.
Swedish Under efterkrigstiden förändrades många västerländska länders kriminalpolitik i riktning mot välfärd och rehabilitering. Detta ideal fokuserade gärningsmannen, inte brottsoffret. Detta skulle snart komma att förändras. En av de första initiativ som togs för brottsoffer var brottsskadeersättning, en ekonomisk kompensation som infördes på 1960-talet. Denna artikel jämför utvecklingen av brottsska-deersättning i två länder, USA och Sverige, i relation till deras välfärds-och kri-minalpolitik. Båda länderna initierade kompensationsreformer för brottsoffer i välfärdsinstitutionella kontexter. Med stöd i en jämförande historisk fallstud-iemetod visar artikeln dock att kompensationsreformerna i de två länderna skilde sig åt och kom att avspegla respektive lands välfärds-och kriminalpolitik. De första svenska kompensationsreformerna förankrades som en socialförsäkrings-fråga, medan deras motsvarigheter i USA snabbt banade väg för mer straffinrik-tade program.
The aim of this article is to analyse how social workers in the social services describe crime victims and their role in supporting these victims. Based on focus groups with social workers in the social services, it is established that social workers discriminate between a categorical understanding of crime victims and an assessment of individuals in need. The categorical understanding of crime victims is connected to weakness and innocence, and the discussions are constructed with a focus on women and children. However, when the social workers move beyond this idea and describe individual victims of crime they have met, they attribute a more complicated picture and acknowledge the complexity of crime and victimization. The social workers give themselves a vague role regarding support to victims of crime. They consider themselves as able to connect individuals in need with helping resources, but they do not regard themselves as resources in this area. According to the social workers, an individual should not receive support from the social services just because he or she is categorized by them as a victim of crime. One conclusion is that the category ‘crime victims’ has not gained acceptance among the social workers.
The report presents the findings from the national conference on cultural victimology, as part of the work within the European network for cultural victimology. The network is funded by the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST). The report is available in two versions – one in Swedish and one in English.
Rapporten presenterar vad som framkom vid det nationella mötet i kulturell viktimologi som en del av arbetet som görs inom det europeiska nätverket i kulturell viktimologi. Nätverket får finansiering av European Cooperation in Science & Technology (COST). Rapporten finns i två versioner – en på svenska och en på engelska.
Swedish Under efterkrigstiden förändrades många västerländska länders kriminalpolitik i riktning mot välfärd och rehabilitering. Detta ideal fokuserade gärningsmannen, inte brottsoffret. Detta skulle snart komma att förändras. En av de första initiativ som togs för brottsoffer var brottsskadeersättning, en ekonomisk kompensation som infördes på 1960-talet. Denna artikel jämför utvecklingen av brottsska-deersättning i två länder, USA och Sverige, i relation till deras välfärds-och kri-minalpolitik. Båda länderna initierade kompensationsreformer för brottsoffer i välfärdsinstitutionella kontexter. Med stöd i en jämförande historisk fallstud-iemetod visar artikeln dock att kompensationsreformerna i de två länderna skilde sig åt och kom att avspegla respektive lands välfärds-och kriminalpolitik. De första svenska kompensationsreformerna förankrades som en socialförsäkrings-fråga, medan deras motsvarigheter i USA snabbt banade väg för mer straffinrik-tade program.
The aim of this article is to analyse how social workers in the social services describe crime victims and their role in supporting these victims. Based on focus groups with social workers in the social services, it is established that social workers discriminate between a categorical understanding of crime victims and an assessment of individuals in need. The categorical understanding of crime victims is connected to weakness and innocence, and the discussions are constructed with a focus on women and children. However, when the social workers move beyond this idea and describe individual victims of crime they have met, they attribute a more complicated picture and acknowledge the complexity of crime and victimization. The social workers give themselves a vague role regarding support to victims of crime. They consider themselves as able to connect individuals in need with helping resources, but they do not regard themselves as resources in this area. According to the social workers, an individual should not receive support from the social services just because he or she is categorized by them as a victim of crime. One conclusion is that the category ‘crime victims’ has not gained acceptance among the social workers.